Amazon has just introduced a new e-reader called the “Kindle,” and it looks like a fantastic piece of technology. The company must have high hopes for the Kindle — today, when you type “www.amazon.com,” into your browser, you get a letter from Jeff Bezos touting the new product.
I have to say that it looks quite enticing. Amazon also provides a very persuasive video demonstration — in addition to being a great piece of marketing, it reveals that the folks at Amazon have excellent taste in non-fiction.
I’ve never actually read an e-book (after all, I am hopelessly behind when it comes to technology), but this new development is encouraging me to finally try. I would be interested to hear from readers who have tried both the Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle as to which they prefer.
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The problem with the Kindle is that it costs $400. You have to an avid reader to make it worth while. Also, I think a good portion of avid readers like having the books on their shelf. Its an intellectual’s trophy case.
The problem with the Kindle is that it costs $400. You have to an avid reader to make it worth while. Also, I think a good portion of avid readers like having the books on their shelf. Its an intellectual’s trophy case.
Too bad you can’t actually buy any books to put on this device. This product is encumbered by DRM, so what you are really doing when you give Amazon money for a book is more akin to renting the book. Dive into Mark has a great commentary: http://diveintomark.org/archives/2007/11/19/the-future-of-reading including some quotes from Bezos himself.
Too bad you can’t actually buy any books to put on this device. This product is encumbered by DRM, so what you are really doing when you give Amazon money for a book is more akin to renting the book. Dive into Mark has a great commentary: http://diveintomark.org/archives/2007/11/19/the-future-of-reading including some quotes from Bezos himself.
The Kindle is not ‘must-have’. First off, it’s expensive. How can you justify a cost of $400 for the unit alone? The cost of text to read on it afterwards is similarly high, as well as locking the customer into having Amazon as the supplier of text.
The only way I could really see the cost being acceptable to the consumer is if they are a college student and they can buy textbooks for steep discounts. Of course for a myriad of reasons this isn’t the case.
So the user is eating the cost of the device itself, and the price of the ebooks at $10 isn’t going to help the unit “pay for itself” either. Charging money for things like the Times (which is fetched off the internet anyways!) which is already available for free with ads…
If it cost $100 it’d be the next must-have. $400 entry price on top of the not-really-competetive price of ebooks is going to make this a flop.
The Kindle is not ‘must-have’. First off, it’s expensive. How can you justify a cost of $400 for the unit alone? The cost of text to read on it afterwards is similarly high, as well as locking the customer into having Amazon as the supplier of text.
The only way I could really see the cost being acceptable to the consumer is if they are a college student and they can buy textbooks for steep discounts. Of course for a myriad of reasons this isn’t the case.
So the user is eating the cost of the device itself, and the price of the ebooks at $10 isn’t going to help the unit “pay for itself” either. Charging money for things like the Times (which is fetched off the internet anyways!) which is already available for free with ads…
If it cost $100 it’d be the next must-have. $400 entry price on top of the not-really-competetive price of ebooks is going to make this a flop.
Commentators have also complained about the Kindle’s Digital Restrictions Management (DRM), which prevents you from lending books to others; and about the Kindle’s terms of service, which permit it to phone home to Amazon with your entire reading list, bookmarks, and annotations.
Commentators have also complained about the Kindle’s Digital Restrictions Management (DRM), which prevents you from lending books to others; and about the Kindle’s terms of service, which permit it to phone home to Amazon with your entire reading list, bookmarks, and annotations.